October 28, 2009

New Jersey Chamber of Commerce Honors Elected Officials and a Business Leader for Economic Growth Activities

Four state legislators and one of the state’s top business leaders will be honored Wednesday at the New Jersey Chamber of Commerce Legislative Awards Reception, which will commence at 6:30 p.m. on Pfizer’s Peapack campus. The awards program recognizes individuals for advancing efforts to make the Garden State business-friendly, economically sound and a great place to live and work.

The Legislative Award winners are:

• Senate Minority Leader Thomas H. Kean (R-21 Union, Somerset, Morris and Essex counties)
• Sen. Robert G. Smith (D-17 Middlesex and Somerset counties)
• Assemblyman Louis D. Greenwald (D-6 Camden County)
• Assemblyman Declan O’Scanlon (R-12 Monmouth and Mercer counties).

The recipient of the Chamber’s Business Advocate Award will be Chamber Executive Committee member Ralph Izzo, chairman president and CEO of Public Service Enterprise Group in Newark.

“Tonight’s honorees were selected because improving the state’s economic climate and making sure New Jersey takes advantage of its many assets is a priority for them,” said Joan Verplanck, president of the New Jersey Chamber of Commerce. “New Jersey faces many challenges, and we are fortunate to have individuals such as these advocating on behalf of the employer community. Through their individual efforts in the areas of ethics reform, fiscal integrity, the green movement, and health care, our award winners are ensuring the Garden State’s competitive future.”

Business Advocate Award

Ralph Izzo, chairman, president and CEO of PSEG since 2007, has been working to ensure New Jersey capitalizes on the intersection of the green environment and the green economy. He chairs the Chamber’s Platform for Progress Environment Coalition, which has supported legislation encouraging companies to reduce their carbon footprint, expand or invest in the manufacture of environmental technologies, or manufacture products using environmentally friendly processes. He is the chair of the Chamber’s Cornerstone New Jersey Green Companies Initiative, which is engaging companies in energy-reduction activities that, if implemented, would save them money, reduce environmental impact and create jobs.

Legislative Advocates

The Chamber selected its legislative award recipients based on their past voting records, bill sponsorships, committee votes and overall history of supporting economic growth.

Senator Kean sponsored the Public Employee Pension and Benefits Reform Act of 2008, which was signed into law and supports the Chamber’s Government Reform initiatives calling for changes to the state’s pension and benefits system. He also introduced bills that would strengthen the ethics laws regarding members of the Legislature. Additionally, he introduced legislation that would provide the public with more information on the state budget before it is signed into law.

Senator Smith was the prime architect of the recently-signed License Site Remediation Professional (LSRP) legislation, which was borne out of recommendations from a Chamber-funded study. LSRP expedites the state’s licensing process so that contaminated sites may be efficiently remediated. He sponsored legislation promoting energy efficiency, wind and solar use, and incentives for designing and constructing buildings that meet "green building" criteria. He is a leader in the effort to pursue cost-saving measures such as shared services and school district consolidation. He called for a binding referendum allowing voters in each county to establish an administrative school district to oversee all public schools in that county.

Assemblyman Greenwald sponsored legislation that reforms the state’s Corporation Business Tax. He is a strong advocate for securing stable funding to provide emergency care for the uninsured, and he called for a dedicated fund to pay for charity care as well as an increase in the reimbursement rates for hospitals. Greenwald was a prime sponsor of the Permit Extension Act of 2008, which extends state, county and municipal permits so that projects delayed by the economy may be completed without revisiting the permitting process, beginning at square one.

Assemblyman O’Scanlon introduced chamber-supported government reform legislation, including banning dual office holding; limiting the payment of accumulated sick leave for state and local public employees; and revising the financial disclosure requirements for members of the Legislature. He ushered through legislation in the Assembly that prohibits elected and appointed officials from receiving dual health benefit coverage. O’Scanlon consistently opposes tax hikes and burdensome regulations that have a negative impact on employers and job creation.